Woman stabbed by teenager survives after knife snags on her £6 Asda bra

When a teenage thug demanding money lunged at Vicky Parsons with a knife she feared she was about to be stabbed to death.

But as the blade pierced her chest she was miraculously saved - by the wiring in her white £6 supermarket bra.

Further examinations revealed that whilst the knife had punctured her skin the wire had stopped it travelling any further.

Last night, the 26-year-old barmaid from Hull said: 'Thankfully the underwire in the bra took all the shock – it saved my life.'

Her terrifying ordeal began as she took a break from behind the bar at the Wellington Inn on August 25 this year.

She was eating a sandwich in her car and doing a crossword when she was approached from behind by a hooded thug.

'Suddenly I felt something at my throat,' she said. 'My first reaction was to laugh because I thought it was one my mates messing around.

Asda shop assistant Joan Hardwick holds the bra that saved the life of Vicky Parsons

'But I turned round and saw a lad wearing a red bandana across his face, and I realised it was a large knife which he had right across my throat.

'I instinctively pushed it away and it was so sharp I cut my hand.'

As she struggled with the teenager he thrust the knife at her chest - but remarkably the blow was cushioned by the wire in the bra she bought from Asda.

'He shouted 'give me some money' and I swore at him,' she added. 'I couldn't believe what was happening. The next thing I knew he pushed the knife at my chest.'

As Miss Parsons stumbled backwards her 14-year-old attacker fled. She then flagged down a passing motorist and his passenger who gave chase.

'I called the police and when they arrived the two lads had brought my attacker back,' she said. 'I looked him in the eye and said 'you've stabbed me, you've cut me'.

'He said: 'No. I didn't even have a knife'. With that he was put into a van and I was taken away to hospital.

'I didn't have a clue that my bra had saved me until I got to the hospital and handed my clothes to the police - and the wiring on it was bent.

'I wouldn't mind but I'd only worn it a couple of times.

'I was so shocked and terrified I couldn't believe that it had saved my life. It's the best six pounds I ever spent.

The police still have my bra and when I get it back I'm going to throw it away because it holds too many nightmares for me.

'I just can't believe it was a 14-year-old who did this to me. It is disgusting that a child tried to rob me with a knife.'

She paid tribute to the two men who helped her and said that without them her attacker would still be at large.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged with assault with intent to rob and grievous bodily harm.

He was locked up for four years in a young offenders' institute after appearing at Hull Crown Court on October 25.

Last night, Detective Constable Emma Rion, who led the investigation, said: 'This was a truly horrendous attack that could have had for more serious consequences. We may have been dealing with a murder inquiry.'